Explain this to me
by HeyPantat
Summary: In a world where there are no such thing as dragons, Jake finds himself searching helplessly for answers. But trouble arise and Jake finds himself in a race to stop the madness, despite the fact that he's completely clueless as to what he's doing.
1. Chapter 1: No such thing

Hey. My exams are over and school's almost out. Hah! So I'm bored and so tadah! An ADJL fic. I used to write a lot (although I never finish what I start), but I've never really uploaded anything here. So well, here you go. Uhh, try to make sense of the plot. And it takes place around... the Hong Kong Longs? Hehee.

Words in _italic _are what is going on in Jake's head.

Disclaimer: Do you think I'm Jeff Goode?

**Explain this to me**

**Chapter 1: No such thing**

_It was a simple thing to understand. There were no such things as unicorns, elves, or pixies. There were no such things as dragons too. Moreover, there were no such things as magical creatures. And everyone believed that. Well, except for Mr Rotwood. I mean, _Professor_ Rotwood._

"Now class, please turn to page 106 of your textbook." Rotwood told his class. No one moved. He was oblivious to his sleeping students, again. "Today, we will learn about dragons. Dragons are legendary creatures who are huge fire-breathing, scaly and horned dinosaur-like creatures. They have leathery wings and a long tail. They are Mr Jake Long!"

Jake woke up with a start and bolted upright in his chair so fast that he almost fell. If his classmates were awake, they would probably be laughing. "I'm awake! What did I miss?"

Rotwood leaned down on him with an annoyed look written all over his face. "You, Mr Long, have just missed the start of a very interesting chapter. Now stay awake!" Jake sighed and leaned back in his chair, praying that sleep would take him again.

_Mythology 101 with whacked Rotwood equals boring._

"Now where was I?" Rotwood started pacing as he said, "Oh yes, dragons. Mr Long, can you tell me where dragons originate from?"

Jake visibly gulped and scratched his head. "Uh, let me see... Alaska?"

Rotwood's nostril went wide as he stared down at Jake. Before he could say a word, the bell rang and Jake let out a sigh of relief. Rotwood gave Jake a face before addressing his now awake class. "Enjoy your holiday students, but don't forget to read up about the chapter on dragons. Especially you, Mr Long."

"Yeah, like that's going to happen," Jake whispered silently to himself.

=.=

Jake had his back turned to the direction he was walking as he walked out of school. "I'll see you later guys," he yelled to Trixie and Spud. They waved to him and just as he was about to turn, he hit somebody. The sound of books falling accompanied his apologies. "Sorry, I-" Jake looked over to the person who was muttering apologies to him. She had long golden hair and big blue eyes that Jake was lost in. "Hey there.."

She looked up at him and smiled, "Hey yourself. Sorry." Jake handed her the books he picked up for her as they stood up. "It's okay," Jake said. Then he held out his hand, "I'm Jake."

The girl took his hand and shook it, "Rose." There was a brief pause as they stared at each other with smiles on their faces, their hands still grasping each other's. Suddenly, Rose blinked several times and looked down, still smiling. "Well, I've got to go. My family's leaving for Hong Kong first thing tomorrow, and I've got to start packing."

Jake's eyes widened. "You're spending your vacation at Hong Kong too?"

Rose nodded and smiled, "You too?"

"Yeah. So I guess, I'll see you around, here, at Hong Kong, the flight tomorrow morning, and yeah."

Jake swore he could hear the smile in Rose's voice when she said, "Great. So, I'll see ya."

"Yeah..." Jake smiled as he watched Rose go.

_Totally smitten..._

=.=

_So here's the thing. When I reached home, everyone's already packed for Hong Kong! So we leave first thing tomorrow. Just when I was about to leave to spend some time with Trixie and Spud, Gramps told me they could come along! They were so thrilled to be going on my family vacation._

Jake walked into the bathroom after packing his bags. He stared into the mirror and grinned at his reflection. He took his eyes away from the mirror to grab his toothpaste and toothbrush. He looked into the mirror again, "Hey hotstuff. Did you just grow taller? Hah!"

After looking down to squirt toothpaste on his toothbrush, he looked at the mirror again. He was shorter than just now. Eyebrow raised, he said, "Uh, wasn't I just... Humph, must be my imagination."

Jake hummed as he brushed his teeth for bed. He looked up at the mirror again and saw that he was taller, again. "Say what?" Jake looked down at his feet and screamed.

"Ahh! I have lizard feet!" he stared up at the mirror. It was like a picture from the page on dragons from his mythology textbook was smacked upon his mirror, because he saw a dragon staring back at him. "Ahh! I'm a... mutant lizard!"

Jake fell back and hit the bathroom tile. He covered his face with his hands. Slowly, he opened his eyes. When he saw that he was staring at red claws, he yelled again and closed his eyes. A few moments later, with eyes still closed, he stood up and dared himself to open his eyes.

_On the count of three. One. Two._

"Three," Jake said as his eyes fluttered open. He sighed as he saw himself in the mirror, and not a dragon. I mean, mutant lizard. "False alarm. I think I caught Rotwood's wacky virus."

When he was done, Jake walked back to his room and slumped onto his bed. He yawned and soon enough, sleep drowned him.

=.=

"Jake! Wake up! Time to leave!" The sound of Haley's voice rattled through Jake's room. Jake woke up with a start and fell off his bed with his bed sheet covering him. Haley stood before him with her hands on her hips, an amused look smacked on her face. "Is this a habit of yours, falling off of stuff?"

Jake looked up at his sister through the bed sheet. "No, usually the ground is there to catch me," he said sarcastically. As he pulled the bed sheet off of him, Haley screamed. "Yo, what is it Haley? Is it my hair?"

Reaching up to feel his hair, Haley yelled, "Monster!" She hurried down and slammed the door shut. Jake stared at the mirror on his door and saw _it_. He yelled and the door flew open, his dad standing there, carrying a frightened looking Haley. His mom stood behind Jonathan, and Gramps squeezed in between them. Jonathan's voice broke the silence, "It's a dragon!"

Jake stood up and rushed towards his frightened family, "Guys, it's me, Jake." Jake took a step towards them, "Please, I-"

"Get away from my family, dragon!" Jonathan yelled, spreading his arms in attempt to protect them. There was sadness in Jake's eyes as he heard Gramps say, "Hurry Susan, and daughter's husband. Let us leave."

As Jake saw his family leave, he ran towards them, but the door slammed shut. Jake saw his reflection in the mirror again. A red, long, scaly and serpentine creature with four legs stared back at him. Then, the dragon in the mirror gave a sinister look at Jake before he lunged out of the mirror and into Jake.

"Ahh!" Jake screamed and shut his eyes. When he opened them, he saw darkness. He was lying on his bed. The door suddenly flew open and Susan stood in the doorway, running towards Jake. She embraced him, like all mothers would do when they hear their child scream.

"Jake honey, are you okay?" Jonathan, who suddenly appeared, asked.

Jake looked up and saw concern in his dad's eyes. He closed his and leaned towards his mom and said, "It was nightmare. I'm fine now. Thanks guys."

Susan held Jake for a while before she and Jonathan went back to their room. Haley walked in and placed a warm hand on her brother's. Jake smiled. Curiousity and worry filled his mind as he asked, "Haley, if I were... I don't know, some kind of... monster, would you still love me?"

Haley looked taken aback by his question, "Of course I still would. Why would you ask that?"

Jake let out a breath of relief, "Nothing. It just... crossed my mind. Thanks Haley. Good night." Jake gave Haley a hug before she went back to her room that was just across his. "Good night, Jake."

Jake stood up and walked towards his school bag, then took out his mythology textbook. He stared at it for a while before bringing it back to bed. He turned to page 106, the chapter on dragons.

'While dragons in Western mythology are considered evil, Chinese dragons traditionally symbolise culture. The dragon is a symbol of power, strength, and good luck. The dragons were known to be excellent and outstanding, and also successful and powerful.'

Jake yawned. "Hey, dragons aren't so bad..." Soon enough, sleep came.

_If my mind was playing tricks on me, then good. But if it's not and I'm really a dragon, I've got to get some answers. And Hong Kong would be the perfect place for it._

=.=

Well there you go. Let me know if it's worth continuing. I really want to finish a story that I start. So PUH-LEEZE review. Thanks people. :)


	2. Chapter 2: Tale of the Four Dragons

Thanks for the support! Wheee!

Well, I've one thing to say: Enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: I sat on Santa's lap once and asked if I could own ADJL. He said, Dream on, kiddo.

=.=

**Explain this to me**

**Chapter 2: Tale of the four dragons**

The alarm woke Jake up. As usual, he shot out of bed and fell flat on the floor. "Urgh," he grunted in pain. Jake rubbed his back, but when he felt scales, he yelled. "I'm dreaming. Yeah."

With that, Jake crawled back to his bed and pulled his covers over. He shut his eyes and faked snores. After a while he said, "I can't do this." Jake lifted his scaly arm and pinched it with his claw. "Ah! Alright, I'm definitely awake."

Jake got out of bed and walked towards his mirror. He looked at his reflection. The red dragon stared at him again. Jake smiled, then frowned, and stuck his tongue out. The dragon did all the things he did. "Okay, that's definitely me."

"How do I change back?" Jake asked the dragon, but it just stared cluelessly back at him. Jake sighed. With all his might, Jake concentrated on his human form. His eyes that were squeezed shut flew open after he thought he did it. But he was wrong. "Aww man."

Jake tried again. "Come on, Jakie needs his pretty face back."

When he opened his eyes, Jake saw himself smiling at the mirror. "I did it!"

Just then, the door flew open and Haley stood at the doorway. "Jake, mom told me to tell you to hurry because we're going to be late."

"Say what?" Jake turned to check his clock. It was 8.03 am. And the flight was at 9.00 am. "Aww man," Jake sighed as he ran to the bathroom after grabbing his towel.

=.=

"Jacob Luke Long! Hurry up, we're going to be late!" Susan's voice rang through the empty house.

"Just a sec, mom," Jake yelled back. He ran up to his room to grab his bags. Jake looked around to check if he had left anything behind. Then, his eyes were set upon his mythology textbook. Jake frowned and turned to shut the door. But then he stopped. He hurried into his room, grabbed the book, and rushed down.

_I can't believe I'm actually going to be reading this book. Oh well, what's a guy supposed to do when he finds out he's a lizard, I mean, dragon?_

Jake hopped down the flight of stairs and squeezed inside the cab next to Gramps. "Haha," chimed Spud. "Hong Kong, here we come."

_Throughout the ride, the whole dragon thing was stuck on the back of my mind. I didn't know whether I could believe it or not. Then, after sitting next to Gramps the whole time, I remembered that he was from China. And so, he should know a thing or two that's logic about dragons, right?_

"Uh, Gramps?" Jake quietly turned to his grandfather. Lao Shi looked at Jake and raised his eyebrow, "Yes?"

Jake scratched the back of his head before saying, "I was just wondering, what do you know about... dragons?"

"Dragons?" Thoughtfulness filled Lao Shi's voice as he spoke, "Well, dragons are just a myth but my mother used to tell me a story of dragons."

"Really? What is it about?"

Lao Shi had the attention of everyone in the cab now, even the driver, probably. "It is about the Tale of the Four Dragons. Long ago, there were no rivers on the Earth. There was only the Eastern Sea."

"Really?" Spud cut in.

"Aiyah! This is just a myth! Now, in this sea lived four dragons; the Pearl Dragon, The Yellow Dragon, the Black Dragon and the Long Dragon."

Spud cut in Lao Shi's story again, "Long? As in Jake Long, Haley Long, Su-"

Lao Shi clenched his tiny fists and yelled, "Yes, Long!" Trixie nudged Spud in the ribs as Lao Shi took a deep breath with eyes closed. "One day, as the dragons flew from the sea to the sky and played in the clouds, the Pearl Dragon pointed down to the Earth and cried out for the others to come and look."

"Wha-" Before Spud could finish, Trixie smacked her hand over his mouth and smiled sheepishly to the Longs.

"On the Earth, they saw many people putting out fruits and cakes, and burning incense sticks while they prayed."

"Why did they do that?" Jake asked curiously.

Haley spoke before Lao Shi could, "Silly, they're either praying to the spirits, Gods or their ancestors. The fruits and cakes are offerings, something like that."

"Correct, Haley," Lao Shi beamed as Haley smiled her winning smile. "The dragons saw one white-haired woman, kneeling on the ground with a thin boy on her back. She prayed and said, Please send rain quickly, God of Heaven, to give our children rice to eat. There had been no rain for a very long time and the crops had withered, the grass turned yellow, and the fields cracked under the scorching sun.

""How poor the people are!" said the Yellow Dragon. They will die if it doesn't rain soon! The Long dragon agreed and then suggested that they go and beg the Jade Emperor for rain. He then leapt into the clouds and flew towards the Heavenly Palace with the other Dragons following close behind."

"Why do they have to beg the Emperor for rain?" Jonathan asked.

"Because daughter's husband, the Jade Emperor was in charge of all the affairs in heaven and on earth, and he was very powerful," Lao Shi replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Where was I? Oh yes, the Jade Emperor, however, was not pleased with the the four dragons rushing into the palace. "Why do you come here instead of staying in the sea and behaving yourselves?" the Jade Emperor asked the dragons.

"The Long dragon quickly stepped forward and said that the crops on earth are withering and dying. He begged the emperor to send rain down quickly.

"The Jade Emperor pretended to agree and told the dragons to go as he would send rain tomorrow. The four dragon flew happily back to the sea after thanking the emperor. However, ten days passed and no rain came to the earth. The people suffered more and more. Seeing this, the four dragons felt sorry for the people because they knew the Jade Emperor only cared about pleasure and never took the people to heart.

"They then decided to rely on themselves to relieve the people from the misery. Seeing the vast sea, the Long Dragon said he had an idea. They decided to scoop up the water and spray it towards the sky as the water will be like raindrops and come down to save the people and their crops. The other dragons agreed and they flew down to the sea, scooped up water in their mouths and flew back into the sky where they sprayed water all over the earth. The four dragons flew back and forth, making the sky dark, and before long the sea water became rain and it poured down from the sky. The people cried rain and were happy that their crops would be saved. They leapt with joy as the wheat stalks raised their heads and the grasses straightened up.

"The god of the sea discovered what the dragons had done and reported it to the Jade emperor who became enraged," Lao Shi showed a furious-looking face, in attempt to portray the emperor's reaction. "He ordered the generals and their troops to arrest the Four Dragons. The dragons were outnumbered and were soon captured and brought to the heavenly palace. "Go and get four mountains to lay upon them so they can never escape!" the Emperor had ordered.

"The mountain God then used his powers to make four mountains fly from afar, and pressed down on the four dragons, imprisoning them forever. However, the dragons never regretted their decision and was determined to continue to do good for the people. So, they turned themselves into four rivers, which flowed past the high mountains and deep valleys, crossing the land from the west to the east, and finally emptied into the sea.

"Thus, they became China's four great rivers-the Zhujiang, Pearl Dragon, the Huanghe, Yellow Dragon, the Heilongjian, the Black Dragon, and the Changjiang, the-"

"Oh I know, I know!" Spud cut in again. "The Long Dragon!"

Lao Shi sighed, "Yes, the Long dragon." Jake smiled at the tale.

"So Gramps," Trixie spoke. "These four rivers are real, aren't they?" Lao Shi nodded, "Oh yes, the rivers are real. In fact, the Zhujiang river passes Hong Kong."

"So," Jake said, "Are the dragons real?"

All eyes turned to Jake. "I already told you," Lao Shi stated. "Dragons are myths. There are no such things as dragons."

"Right," Jake sighed. He could feel Trixie's eyes on him. "Yo Jakie, don't worry about that whole Rotwood dragon thing yesterday," she whispered quietly that only Spud and Jake could hear.

"Yeah," Spud agreed. "You know Rotwood likes picking on you."

Jake smiled. The thought of Rotwood didn't occur to him at all. But it was nice for him to know that there were some people who understood, sort of.

_I began thinking, I know I couldn't tell my family about this. They'll totally freak. And they can throw me in the crazy can if they think I'm nuts. But Trixie and Spud can't. I know I should tell someone about this, but it all seems so whacked. Sigh, whatever. Me, a dragon? That's whacked. I was totally hallucinating. Maybe it's because of this whole Rotwood thing. Yeah. Definitely Rotwood..._

=.=

For the record, I'm not Chinese. I'm not from China either.

So well, there you go. If you Google 'The Tale of the Four Dragons' on the net, I assure you that you can find this story. More to come! Remember, reviews make me a happy writer. :)


	3. Chapter 3: The flight in

I'm back, and I wish school would close already! Thanks for the reviews. It warms my heart. :D

To **Flowerstar**; They all leave in a world where there are no such things as dragons. So yeah, hope that will clarify your confusion. And thanks :)

Disclaimer: Seriously, do you really think I own this show?

**Explain this to me**

**Chapter 3: The flight in**

Spud breathed in the smell of the airport as he entered through the doors. "Smell that, Trix. That is the smell of a new journey."

Trixie made a face and sniffed. "All I smell is... baloney."

"Don't you mean potatoes?" Spud stared at her.

"Yo guys," Jake spoke before Trixie could comment. "Let's hurry. We don't want to be left behind."

With a worried look on his face, Jake motioned Spud and Trixie to move. He got in step behind them, when all of a sudden, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Young man," croaked an old woman. She had white-hair and a slouched back. Her smile spread from ear to ear and she stared at Jake through wide black eyes. "Could you be so kind as to help me with my heavy bags? I just need to load them onto the cab and then I'll be on my way."

Jake stared into the woman's eyes. He turned to look at his family, but then smiled to the old woman and said, "Sure, but I have to be quick."

"Oh of course, dear. Here you go," the woman pointed her bags to Jake.

With a smile plastered to his face, he carried the woman's bag all the way out and onto the trunk of the cab. Jake helped the woman to settle into the cab before he turned to leave. "Just a moment there, dear. I want to give you this."

"It's okay. There's really no need." The woman ignored him and took Jake's hand, then placed a small brown book on his palm. "What is it?"

"It's a little book filled with stories that I am sure you will find very interesting," the woman winked at him.

Jake tried handing the book back to her, but the old woman had already slammed the door shut, and was waving goodbye to him from the cab.

Flipping open the book, a piece of paper fell out. Jake picked it up and opened the folded piece of paper. It was a map.

_A map of China. Well, I suppose that will come in handy. I guess... _

Jake placed the map back into the book and stuffed it in his jacket. Suddenly realising that the flight could have left without him, Jake rushed into the airport.

=.=

"Say what? The flight took of? Why?" Jake exclaimed to the person on the counter.

"Well, sir, the flight takes off at nine A.M. It's 9.10 A.M. now. There will be another flight to Hong Kong tomorrow night." She reported.

"Great," Jake smiled. "Hook me up."

She checked her computer, then frowned. "I'm sorry, sir. But the flight is all booked up."

"Aww man."

=.=

_Then I remembered that I maybe, sort of, am a dragon. And dragons can fly, can't they? _

Standing on the rooftop of the airport, Jake squeezed his eyes shut, trying to change himself into dragon form. "It's not working," Jake grunted when he stared into his human hands. "Oh, dragon up oh. Dragon up, oh," Jake chanted, feeling hopeless.

When Jake opened his shut eyes, he saw a tail. "I did it! Woohoo!" After hopping around, Jake turned to where the plane had took off to. Jake concentrated hard, picturing his dragon self flapping his wings. When he was two feet off the ground, Jake yelled, "I'm flying!"

His eyes were set on the distance, and Jake took off. "Yeah, this is how we do it."

_You know, even if I don't know what's going on and even if this is all so hard to believe, flying and touching clouds while feeling the wind in my hair, I actually love he fact that I'm a dragon. It really feels nice to just take flight, and fly away. For once, I'm hoping that I'm not dreaming. _

At first, Jake flew in zigzags. Then he ended up flying sideways. In the end, after a long while of flying, he finally got the hang of it. Unfortunately, he caught no sign of the plane. "Yo, am I even heading the right way?" he asked himself.

As if on cue, the clouds moved and Jake saw a plane. "There it is!" he exclaimed. Jake tried flying faster in attempt to catch up to the plane. He tried making sure that it was his plane, so he flew pass the door and checked the windows, trying to look through it to see whether his family was there.

Luck was on his side when he saw Haley sitting next to the window reading a book. "Haley!" Jake exclaimed. _Hmm, how do I get in?_ He wondered. Jake flew to the back of the plane and found a door. "Jackpot. My one way ticket in." Jake tried yanking the door open, but it didn't budge. Staring into the keyhole, Jake took out his hand and looked at his claw. He stuck his little finger in, and turned it, hoping he picked the lock. Jake heard the sound of the lock turning, but all of a sudden, he saw his human hands again.

"Say what? What happened to my dragon?" Jake complained, clinging on to the handle for dear life. Then the door flew open and Jake tumbled in. "Whoa!" he cried as fell face flat onto the floor.

"I'm okay, I'm-in the washroom?" Jake surveyed the area. "Oh well."

Jake pushed open the door and tried to find his family. As he was walking, the planed lunged forward and Jake fell back and landed on a chair. He sighed, "Well, at least I know there is something great about being a dragon."

"Dragon?" a voice chimed beside him.

_Oops, no one should know about that!_

=.=

I hate this chapter, but I had to make it happen. Hehe, you'll soon know why. Well, review! I'll see ya. :)


	4. Chapter 4: To go

Sorry it took so long.

Well, enjoy.

To **Flowerstar**; Cool!

To **everyone**; Thanks a lot! :D

Disclaimer: If I owned ADJL, there would be such thing as ADJL Season 5. Or 6!

**Explain this to me**

**Chapter 4: To go**

"Dragon?" said a voice beside Jake. Jake tried thinking of a cover story. But before he could say anything, the familiar voice spoke up again. "Jake? Is that you?"

"Say what?" Jake exclaimed and turned towards the voice. "Rose? Hey!"

Rose smiled warmingly at Jake. "What were you saying about dragons, Jake?"

"I uh...," Jake stuttered. "I was... you know...."

"Is it that mythology class that Professor Rotwood's forcing everyone in school to take? He just started on the chapter about dragons," Rose offered.

Jake lit up. _Perfect cover story! _"Yeah! Totally, I'm so obsessing over Rotwood."

"Well, it's nice to know there's someone else who pays attention in Rotwood's class." Rose and Jake laughed as they started talking about how their classes with Rotwood were. He even told her about the Tale of the Four Dragons.

_It turns out that Rose totally digs magical creatures. But unlike Rotwood, she doesn't believe in them. I wonder if she believes in dragons... _

Before Jake could ask, the sound of Jonathan's voice interrupted, "Jakeroo! There you are, we've been looking everywhere for you. Come on, family's saved you a seat."

"I uh..." Jake turned to Rose. Her smile told him that it was okay. And so he waved Rose goodbye and followed his dad.

=.=

"Hey Trix," Jake said after a few hours of silence between them. "Did you know Rose is here in the same flight as us?"

Trixie, who was sitting beside Jake and Spud, raised her eyebrow, "That's good news for you then. Wait, who's Rose?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot you don't know her," Jake began. "She's the new girl in our school, I mean, considering we've never really seen her around much."

"You mean the blonde you bumped into, Jakie?"

"Yeah. That's the one!" Jake said. Soon enough, silence hung upon them again. Looking around, Jake saw that the rest of his family was asleep. He felt that it was the perfect time to tell Trixie and Spud about being a dragon, for he could no longer keep it inside without knowing that there's nobody to comfort him about it. He knew that soon enough, he had to tell somebody. And Trixie and Spud were the perfect people for it. They understood him, more than his own family did. It was normal, he thought. It was normal for friends to know more about you, because they share your fears, your troubles, and your sufferings when you're in Rotwood's class.

"So guys," Jake began. "I... uh... You know about... dragons, right?"

"Jake, of course we know!" Spud smiled.

"Is it Rotwood again?" Trixie asked, concern in her voice.

Jake sighed. He wanted to tell them so badly, but he just couldn't bring himself to it. "Sort of... Guys, I have to tell you something. I..."

"Kids!" Jonathan suddenly exclaimed. "Look out the window, we're here."

He was right. Jake, Trixie and Spud squeezed together to look out through the window. The Hong Kong International Airport was on a small island built by land reclamation. It was beautiful, Jake thought. Moments later, the plane landed and the excitement made Jake forget that he wanted to tell his friends about his secret.

Soon enough, the Long family arrived at the entrance of their hotel. "Welcome to Hong Kong, Long family and daughter's husband," Lao Shi had said. "Let me show you to your rooms."

Once they were settled, Trixie and Spud walked over to Jake, who was seated on the bed in the room he shared with Spud. Jake was reading his mythological textbook, his face in a tight frown. It wasn't until his friends asked him what he wanted to tell them when Jake remembered about it. "I... uh..." Jake knew how badly he wanted them to know, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that I...," Jake sighed. "I wanted you guys to know that I like Rose."

Jake forced himself to smile. Trixie raised an eyebrow, she could always tell whether Jake was lying. But this time, she thought, he was half-lying. She knew that that wasn't what Jake wanted to say. Nonetheless, she was happy for Jake.

A few hours passed and the Long family was asleep. Jake woke at the sound of Spud's snores. He sighed as he sat up. Jake looked at his jacket, and saw the small brown book the old woman had given him. He took it out and flipped it open to the first page. Written in cursive handwriting, was the Tale of the Four Dragons. The book also had the location and maps of the rivers of Zhujiang, Huanghe, Heilongjian, and Changjiang. It turns out the Zhujiang river flows into the South China Sea between Hong Kong and Macau.

On the map, the city of Guangzhou, where the Zhujiang river is, was circled. The words 'Sea Pearl' were written near the circled area. There was an arrow pointing to the words., and back to the words _dragon temple_. Jake almost dropped the book. He stared at it again. There was a part of him that wanted to find out more, he suddenly felt the urge to change into his dragon form and fly off to the dragon temple on Sea Pearl. However, he felt afraid and doubtful, he didn't know what he could do and who he could turn to.

Sighing, Jake stood up, wore his jacket and headed for the door. Before closing the door behind him, Jake said absently to Spud, "Dude, I just wanted to let you know that I'm a dragon."

A few minutes later, Jake found himself wondering around a street nearby the hotel. He hadn't been noticing that he had been muttering the words 'Sea Pearl' over and over again until he felt someone run up from behind him. "Jake?" A look of worry crossed Rose's face.

Jake responded five seconds later, blinking numerous times. "I... what? Rose? What are you doing here?"

"I had dinner with my family just now," she glanced over to her parents who were talking to a man that Jake presumed worked at the place Rose and her family had dinner from. "What are _you_ doing here?" There was worry in her soft voice.

"I just... needed some air," Jake shrugged.

The look of worry never left Rose's face. "You were saying _sea pearl_?"

"Yeah. Do you know about it?" Jake asked curiously.

"It's an island in the river Zhujiang River," Rose said thoughtfully. "Why?"

"Nothing..." Jake wondered if he should ask Rose about the Dragon Temple. Surely she would know, being a little bit crazy about magical beings and such. Jake made the decision and quickly asked Rose before he could change his mind. "So... you know anything about a temple on the island?"

Rose placed her fingers on her chin, thinking. "You mean the Dragon Temple? I've heard about it. They say there are paintings relating to the story of the dragons. I don't know what the story depicts, though. Nobody does."

The thoughts of visiting the temple crossed Jake's mind, "Why don't they know? Why don't they just visit the temple? Is it dangerous?"

"Kind of. The temple's in the bank of the river."

_The thought that had occurred to me, it never left. I had such a strong feeling that I _had_ go to this temple. I _had_ to find the island. I had to._

Jake glanced over Rose's shoulder. "Well, I guess your parents are here. So, I'll see you around, Rose. Bye," Jake said, probably too hurriedly.

Before Rose could get a chance to ask what was his hurry, Jake had run into an alley beside the hotel. Rose turned, expecting to see her parents. But they were still talking to the man. Without thinking twice, Rose sprinted to Jake. They alley was dark, but she managed to catch a glimpse of him. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice was drained when she saw flames engulfing Jake's body. She didn't hear him winced in pain, she didn't even hear him, or her thoughts, at all. When she saw that a dragon stood where Jake had, she questioned whether she was dreaming or not.

Rose couldn't believe it, but she felt familiar and drawn to the dragon, just like how she felt with Jake. She didn't know whether she was hallucinating or not, but whatever happened, it felt real. As the dragon flew off into the night sky, Rose whispered, "Jake..."

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Truth betold, I ran out of ideas for this chapter, that's why I took so long. And I kept rewriting until I was satisfied. This is my fifth. So yeah. I'm pretty satisfied. I'll be sure to put in more Jake/Rose. I love their love, whatever it is, they showed me that _when love is true, it finds a way_. Okay... I'm getting corny. Well, bye.


	5. Chapter 5: Gotta find you

OMG, I'm back! Only for the meantime, because it's Spetember break and I finally have time to get my hands on my stories! And I've been on lately. You should check it out! Oh, and wish me happy birthday, it's on the 8th! :D

Okay, this chapter seems short. It only looks long because there's a lot of dialogue. And uhh, it's not that good because I didn't read the previous chapters after I stumbled on it. But well, here it is.

Disclaimer: Oh come on!

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**Explain this to me**

**Chapter 5: Gotta find you**

Rose wondered whether she was dreaming. _No, it couldn't be, _she thought. She knew she had seen Jake. Human Jake, dragon Jake. It was Jake. And she knew what she had seen. He had taken off a few minutes ago. Before he flew up, a little brown book fell out. Rose had picked the book up and she stood there for a moment, staring at where the dragon had flew off too. She didn't know where he was heading, but she knew where she would.

=.=

"Trixie? Trixie!" Rose yelled through the window. The sky was still dark, showing no sign of light. Rose wondered if that was the girl's name. She wasn't sure, but she remembered Jake talking about his best friends when they sat at the plane together. And she was sure this was Trixie, she'd seen her several times at school.

Growing impatient, Rose yelled again, "Trixie!"

With a jolt, Trixie sat up. She blinked and looked around. Trixie couldn't see very well in the dark, but she knew that there was no one there but Haley, who was sound asleep. Trixie frowned, and just as she was about to drift back to sleep, she heard a tap on her window. Trixie jumped.

"Rose? What are you doing out there, girl?" Trixie ran over to the window and opened it for Rose.

"I was looking for you."

"Well you found me. What is it?"

Rose took a deep breath, praying Trixie wouldn't think she's crazy. "It's about Jake. He's a dragon!"

Trixie's eyebrow twitched as she stared blankly at Rose. "Did you hit your head on the way here? Listen Rose, Jakey isn't a dragon."

"But he is! I can't believe it! He kept talking to me about dragons in the plane, and-"

"Yo Rose, relax.," Trixie said, holding her hands up to stop Rose from blabbering. "Jake's just obsessed about Rotwood, that's all. He's not a dragon!"

Rose didn't look convinced. She placed her hands on her hips and said, "Well then, why isn't Jake in bed?"

"What? Okay, fine. I'll take you to him, and you'll see that he's in his room with Spud, in his bed, sleeping safe and sound, as a human. Not dragon."

A few seconds later, Trixie found herself gaping. She and Rose were standing at Jake's door, and she was shocked to see that Jake wasn't in bed. "Told you," Rose grinned.

"But... this doesn't prove he's a dragon."

As if on cue, Spud sat up. His eyes were blank as he stared at Trixie and Rose. It was obvious that Spud was half-awake as his voice was thick with sleep. With closed eyes, he said, "Jake's a dragon." As soon as he said that, he drifted back off to sleep again, snoring louder than he originally did. Trixie's eyes were wide as she ran over to Spud yelling, "Spudinski, wake up!"

Spud grunted and sat up slowly, "What is it?"

Rose frowned as she walked over to Spud, pointing a finger at him. "Do you know where Jake is?"

"Jake? He's right there sound-" Trixie placed her hand on Spud's face and turned it towards Jake's empty bed. "Does it look like he's in bed?" she asked.

Rose covered her head in her hands and glanced at Spud with worried eyes, "You just said Jake was a dragon. How did you know that?"

"Jake's a dragon?" Spud pulled his head away from Trixie's grip and looked questioningly over at Rose, "I didn't say that."

"Yes you did. Just now."

"I did?" Spud scratched his head, and then smiled brightly. "Oh yeah, I did!"

Trixie sighed. "How did you know that?" Rose asked again.

Spud yawned and Trixie felt the need to cover her nose to keep herself from breathing in the horrible stench called morning breath. He frowned at Trixie before shrugging, "He told me. It was a few hours ago. I think he might have thought that I was asleep. But yeah, I was. Only, I can hear things." Spud lowered his voice into a whisper as she said the last part.

Rose frowned, "Where is he?" she wondered aloud.

"Maybe you don't need to worry so much. Maybe Jake was just taking a walk around town. I mean, flight. Or however it is dragons move," Spud shrugged.

"Yeah," Trixie said slowly, considering the idea. "Maybe Spud's right. I'm sure if we stick around for a few hours, Jakey would walk right through this door."

Rose sighed. "But it doesn't feel right," she said slowly. "It doesn't feel as though he'll come back."

"Well, where do you think he went?" Spud asked, directing his question to Rose.

Rose pondered in thought. "When I bumped into him tonight, he kept muttering 'sea pearl'. I told him about it, then he asked me about this temple." Suddenly, her eyes shot up and she flashed a wide smile to Trixie and Spud. "I think I know where we're heading."

"Where?" Trixie asked excitedly.

Rose grinned, "The Dragon Temple."

"Wait," Spud said slowly, "_We_?"

Smiling, Rose nodded and said, "Yes. We're going to find Jake."

Trixie and Spud had their mouth agape as Rose stood before them with confidence. _It's going to be a long day_, Trixie thought to herself.

=.=

"There it is," Jake muttered to himself. His eyes took in the sight of the river's water that looked orange against the rising sun. "Zugi- uh, Zijiwhatsitsname river. Yeah."

He landed by the bank of the river that was flowing gently. Jake looked around in search for an island. _Wait, didn't she say river bank? But isn't it an island? Oh great. I'm never going to find it at this rate. _Jake grunted in frustration, "Aw man."

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Hey people, could you please review? Or at least say 'hi'. Please? :')

Anyone knows what _Pantat_ from my pen name: _HeyPantat_ means? :D


	6. Author's note

A/N:

Hey there awesome people! Just so you don't panic, I'm going to be on semi-hiatus. That is until school closes. Which is like, on the 5 of November? Yupp. So… thanks for the support. More thrilling things would happen, and I hope the wait would be worth it. You know… yeah..

Well, thanks again. I apologise deeply. :')

Sweet love of mother from pie,

HeyPantat (Hey ass :D)


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